Trump news: Mueller testimony says president could face criminal charges as Trump rails against 'disaster' hearing
Follow the latest updates from Washington, as it happened
Your support helps us to tell the story
My recent work focusing on Latino voters in Arizona has shown me how crucial independent journalism is in giving voice to underrepresented communities.
Your support is what allows us to tell these stories, bringing attention to the issues that are often overlooked. Without your contributions, these voices might not be heard.
Every dollar you give helps us continue to shine a light on these critical issues in the run up to the election and beyond
Eric Garcia
Washington Bureau Chief
Robert Mueller, the former US special counsel who investigated the Russian interference into the 2016 presidential campaign and Donald Trump campaign’s ties to Russia, has testified on Capital Hill, where he was asked to explain the conclusions he reached in his report released earlier this year.
The whole world was watching, and Democrats skilfully laid out the various ways in which Mr Mueller's report shows the president obstructed justice by trying to end the Mueller report.
They said they had 10 to list, in all.
Mr Trump had repeatedly attempted to downplay or dismiss Mr Mueller’s reluctant appearance on Capitol Hill — which was forced through a subpoena — to discuss his 448-page report into the 2016 election and its aftermath, but has attacked Mr Mueller's testimony anyhow, and has claimed Mr Mueller may have been conflicted because he had interviewed for a job as FBI director just before getting his job as special counsel (Mr Mueller had done that job before, had been praised for his work in that job, and denied he had interviewed for that job as the president says).
During the first half of his testimony, Mr Mueller indicated that a major reason the president was not charged was that Justice Department rules prohibit it. Mr Mueller did note that he believes a president could be charged with a crime after leaving office.
In the end, Democrats appeared to be laying the groundwork for further investigations into Mr Trump's political world, with top leaders pledging to follow the money trail to determine if the president had acted unlawfully.
And, with the future in mind, Democrats repeatedly asked Mr Mueller if the president could be charged with a crime once he leaves office. They said he could.
Please allow a moment for our liveblog to load
Democrats are again asking about Mr Trump asking Mr McGahn to fire Mr Mueller, and efforts to get him to later lie about being asked to fire him.
Mr Mueller confirms that Mr Trump asked his White House counsel to lie about his efforts to get Mr Mueller fired, after a damaging New York Times report noting the efforts.
Representative Jim Jordan is now up, and asking about former Trump campaign official George Papadopoulos, who told a diplomat that Russians had dirt on the Clinton campaign.
Mr Mueller is refusing to "get into" charging decisions, when asked why some individuals who lied to the special counsel investigation were not charged.
Apparently Donald Trump is watching the testimony on Fox News today:
More from Mr Trump, though this was less "reported" than it was a direct quote from Mr Mueller himself this morning:
... and we're back! Mr Mueller is sitting down, and taking questions once again.
Representative Cedric Richmond just thew in a "nevertheless persisted", which may be a sly reference to Elizabeth Warren.
"The president was criticizing his White House counsel for telling law enforcement officers what he believed to be the truth", Representative Cedric Richmond summarizes.
Mr Mueller refers to his report.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments